CCS RPN Research Agenda - Further Research and Study of Community Schools Theme 7: Expanding Opportunity and Belonging - Removing Barriers and Strengthening Pathways

The following is a major theme of the Community Schools Research Agenda. Click here to return to the CCS RPN homepage.

Expanding Opportunity and Belonging: Removing Barriers and Strengthening Pathways

There is a need to develop a clearer theory of change for how Community Schools reduce barriers to opportunity and foster belonging for students and families who are least well served by existing systems. This topic highlights how Community Schools address multiple, overlapping sources of inequity, including poverty, disability inclusion, language learning, immigration barriers, housing instability, health access, rural isolation, community disinvestment, and various forms of discrimination. Research should examine how schools confront these barriers through coordinated strategies that combine rigorous community-connected instruction, integrated student support, community organizing and engagement, and shared leadership structures that ensure priorities align with local needs.

Future studies should investigate how instructional improvement and student support strategies work together to enhance true access to learning and future opportunities. This includes how literacy initiatives and postsecondary planning align with community-connected teaching, how attendance and re-engagement strategies relate to classroom practices, and how coordinated support fosters persistence and success for all students. The research agenda should explicitly consider economic mobility and workforce pathways as outcomes, including career-connected learning, employer partnerships, internships, and work-based learning networks, and examine how these strategies and outcomes vary across contexts. Community Schools, as community hubs, should also be examined in relation to civic participation, community problem-solving, and the conditions that enable all families and young people to engage in shared decision-making. Ethical data practices must be at the core, ensuring transparency about why data are collected, how information is used, who has access, and how communities benefit (especially when partners share data or new technology tools are introduced). Furthermore, research should explore how evolving policies influence what schools can do, how communities interpret data and support, and how Community Schools maintain a clear mission to expand opportunities for all families and students and build community trust.

Suggested research questions:

1. What is the explicit theory of change regarding how Community Schools promote equity and community justice, and what mechanisms should research examine or explore?
2. How do Community Schools address systemic barriers to access and opportunity through community engagement, organizing, integrated support, and community-connected pedagogy?
3. How do Community Schools influence economic mobility and workforce pathways as equity outcomes?
4. How do Community Schools enhance civic engagement and democratic participation? What ethical data practices, consent procedures, and governance safeguards are needed to protect minoritized communities?
5. How do Community Schools integrate trauma-informed and resilience-centered approaches across instruction, student support, and engagement to foster belonging and expand access to learning and opportunity?